18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 1
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Authors for attribution statement: Charters of William II and Henry I Project David X Carpenter, Faculty of History, University of Oxford
YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL
County of Yorkshire : Diocese of York Founded in the reign of William II
The foundation of St Peter’s hospital by the canons of York minster during the reign of William II is discussed in the Headnote for W2. The hospital’s cartulary, which dates from the early fifteenth century, and the chancery enrolments of the hospital’s charters and deeds are also discussed there. The earliest documents in favour of the hospital that were preserved in its archive (excluding forged acts in the name of William II and Henry I) are from the 1130s. An act of Archbishop Thurstan confirming the gift of Lambert of Fossgate, referred to in the note for 000 § 3, Regesta 1327 below, was given towards the end of the reign of Henry I. Deeds of Alan [I] de Percy and William his son date from c. 1130 × 1136 (Clay, Early Yorkshire Charters, xi. 22–3, nos. 6–7; Ctl. York St Leonard, Rawlinson, 733–5, R642–3); a deed of Bertram of Bulmer was given after he succeeded his father c. 1129 and before Hugh dean of York retired in 1135 (Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, ii. 120– 21, no. 783); Henry, son of King David I of Scotland, gave land by deed datable 1136 × 1141 (Ctl. York St Leonard, Rawlinson, 162, R112). Two earlier acts have been preserved in the archive of the dean and chapter of York. William II’s charter giving the dean and canons a plot of land for the construction of a hospital is discussed in the headnote for W2. Nigel d’Aubigny’s deed of 1109 × 1114, addressed to Archbishop Thomas, the sheriff, and all the barons of Yorkshire, restores lands in Upper Helmsley that he had taken from the brethren of the 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 2
hospital, and makes a gift of land in an unidentified Thornton (Greenway, Mowbray Charters, 12–13, no. 7). It is probably no coincidence that at about the same time as the hospital’s archive was established the name of the master of the hospital is first recorded. Robert ‘of the hospital’ is mentioned in an account of the dispute at St Mary’s abbey in 1132 which is contained in a letter of Archbishop Thurstan to William de Corbeil, archbishop of Canterbury. Robert remained as master until 1157 × 1164 (Ctl. York St Leonard’s, Rawlinson, 930–31). The hospital is first mentioned in historical accounts under the year 1137, when John of Worcester, referring to it as the domus hospitalis, noted its destruction by fire along with the minster, the abbey of St Mary and thirty-nine York churches (ed. McGurk, iii, 228–31). Christopher Norton has suggested that there was no fire in 1137, and that John of Worcester’s description of conflagration came about through a misreading of an account of a grand ceremony of consecration. Norton’s version of events fits better with what we know of York’s archaeology and history (C. Norton, ‘The York fire of 1137: conflagration or consecration?’, Northern History 34 (1998), 194–204).
The three acts in the name of Henry I are forgeries, and it is very doubtful whether there were ever any authentic acts of Henry I in favour of the hospital. A short passage in a life of Archbishop Thurstan claims that Henry I gained his barons’ consent for the hospital’s thraves, a render of corn first noticed in charters and deeds early in the reign of Henry II, as described in more detail in the headnote for W2:1
Post multum uero temporis tenuit uetus rex Henricus suum natale apud Eboracum et per consilium Thurstini archiepiscopi ad petitionem Matildis bone regine inpetrauit dictus rex a baronibus qui conuenerant ad festum eius, de singulis carucis Eboracensisscirie singulas trauas bladi in usus hospitalis sancti Leonardi in Eboraco.
After much time King Henry held his Christmas (feast) at York, and by the counsel of Archbishop Thurstan, at the petition of the good Queen Matilda, the said king obtained
1 ‘Vita Thurstini archiepiscopi auctore anonymo’, in Raine, Historians of the Church of York, ii. 259–69, at p. 266. Raine’s source is BL MS Cotton Tiberius A. xix, fols. 53r– 56v, ‘Vita beati Thurstani archiepiscopi Eboracensis’. The date of compilation of the uita, contained in an historical and verse miscellany of s. xv2–xvi2, is unknown. It includes poems attributed to Hugh, a monk of Pontefract, and Geoffrey Turcuple. Raine remarked on the disparate nature of its components: ‘the first is written by a partizan of Canterbury, the verses by ardent friends of Turstin’. 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 3
from his barons that had gathered at his feast, from each plough in Yorkshire a thrave of corn for the use of the hospital of Saint Leonard in York.
This account, like Henry’s charters, can safely be dismissed. Between the nomination of Thurstan in August 1114 and the death of Queen Matilda in May 1118 the king was in England at Christmas once only, in 1115, when he was at St Albans. No other source places Henry in York at Christmas in any year of the reign.2 King Stephen took an interest in the development of the hospital, and his charters, seven in number, have the place of honour at the beginning of the cartulary (Ste/307a, 989–94). He gave six bovates of land in Woolthwaite and Bagley, both near Tickhill, as well the tithes of the toll and of the mills of Tickhill, in 1136 × 1148 (Ste/994).3 It has been suggested that he was also responsible for the gift of two carucates in Acomb (note to 000 § 1, Regesta 1889), and it may have been Stephen who first gave estovers in the forests of Yorkshire (below, 000, Regesta 1328; Ste/989). The late Historia fundationis says that ‘Stephen built in the said hospital a certain church in honour of St Leonard, and from then onwards it was called St Leonard’s hospital’ (Monasticon, vi. 609a). While there is no charter of Stephen establishing the hospital’s new church it is almost certain that he attended its consecration in late summer 1154 with Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury. William of Newburgh, I 32, ed. Howlett, i. 94–5, records that the king was at the seige of Drax and in York at harvest time 1154, before returning southwards about the end of September, just a few weeks before his death on 25 October. Several of Stephen’s acts are datable to this last visit to Yorkshire: as well as his grant to the hospital of 40s from the farm of York, place-dated at York and attested by Archbishop Theobald (Ste/993), he gave acts in favour of Pontefract priory (Ste/664), Sallay abbey (Ste/797), Selby abbey (Ste/817), and Lincoln cathedral (Ste/490). The archbishopric of York had been vacant since the death of Archbishop William on 8 June 1154. Theobald had previously avoided any action in the northern province, but visited during the vacancy in his capacity of papal legate. He was doubtless anxious to have some influence in the choice of the new archbishop of York. His preferred
2 J. Green, Henry I, King of England and Duke of Normandy (Cambridge, 2006), 20– 21, interprets ‘suum natale’ to mean the king’s birthday, but there is no doubt that Christmas was intended (see e.g. E. W. M. Balfour-Melville, ‘The date of the birth of James I of Scotland’, EHR 50 (1935), 490–92). 3 Dated 1148 × 1154 by the editors of Regesta, but it is more likely that the gift was made before Pope Eugenius’s confirmation of 1148. 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 4
candidate, Roger of Pont L’Evêque, was duly elected, and Theobald consecrated him at Westminster on 10 October 1154.4 Theobald’s presence at the dedication of St Leonard’s church is apparent in his act for ‘Robert, warden of the hospital house of York city’ (‘custos hospitalis domus Ebor’ ciuitatis’), which includes a list of financial pledges, ‘hec quoque beneficia in dedicatione ecclesie beati Leonardi prefatae domui ad usum pauperum annuatim reddenda sub nostra presencia promissa sunt’ (‘furthermore these gifts, to be rendered annually for the use of the poor people, were promised in our presence at the dedication of the church of St Leonard of the foresaid house’). Among the pledges so noted were King Stephen’s gift of 40s, and gifts by Richard de Canville and Eustace fitz John, both of whom witnessed the king’s gift (Saltman, Theobald, 514–15, no. 285; Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 155–6, no. 185). King Stephen’s support for the hospital placed it in a difficult position on the accession of Henry II. William of Newburgh records the king’s policy towards gifts made by his predecessor (William of Newburgh, II 2; ed. Howlett, i. 103).
The king, reflecting that the royal revenues, which in the time of his grandfather had been very ample, were greatly reduced because, through the indolence of King Stephen, they had for the most part passed away to numerous other masters, commanded them to be restored entire by the usurper, of whatsoever degree, and brought back to their former jurisdiction and condition. Such as had hitherto become proprietors in royal towns and villages produced for their defense the charters which they had either extorted from King Stephen, or earned by their services: but these could avail them nothing, as the grants of a usurper could not be permitted to operate against the claims of a lawful prince.
The hospital appears to have responded to the danger by creating the forged acts in the name of Henry I, two of which were based on acts it already possessed in the name of King Stephen. The strategy seems to have been at least partly successful. The hospital had at least fifteen acts of Henry II in its archive (H2/2943–57). Among the earliest was his confirmation, datable 1155 × 1158, of the lands and liberties contained in two of the forged acts, together with ‘quicquid ei post mortem regis Henrici aui mei rationabiliter datum est’
4 It is likely that Theobald’s acts for Nun Appleton priory, Pontefract priory, and St Mary’s abbey in York also date from the period of the vacancy (Saltman, Theobald, 412, 423–5, 518–19, nos. 189, 202, 289). 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 5
(H2/2943). Henry II made separate confirmations of the hospital’s holdings in Woolthwaite and Bagley (H2/2947) and the land in Ousegate given by Lambert of Fossgate (H2/2948). The hospital was able to retain its land in Acomb (Ctl. York St Leonard, Rawlinson, 4). There is no evidence that the hospital continued to hold the tithes of Tickhill, and nothing in the pipe rolls to suggest that King Stephen’s gift of 40s from the farm of York continued to be paid in the reign of Henry II. Whether the land the hospital later held in Doncaster included that given by Henry son of King David seems impossible to determine (Ctl. York St Leonard, Rawlinson, 158–9).
D. X Carpenter, The Cartulary of St Leonard’s Hospital, York, Rawlinson Volume, YASRS 163 and Borthwick Texts and Studies 42 (joint publication) (2015).
000† Purported charter confirming gifts to the hospital by the king, Eustace fitz John, and Lambert of Fossgate, quit of gelds and customs except house-gavel payable at the same rate as it was paid before the gift, and the gift of John the Lardener’s gift of lands in Ousegate quit of all geld and customs including house-gavel
CHANCERY ENROLMENT: Charter Roll 11 Edward I, C53/71, mem. 4, no. 20, inspeximus dated 27 July 1283 (CalCh, ii. 267, no. 20. 1) [B]. in CARTULARY COPY: BL MS Cotton Nero D. iii (s. xv ), fol. 3r (now fol. 5r) (‘H(enrici) regis dantis libertates et liberas consuetudines hospitali’) [C]. PRINTED: Dugdale, ii. 392–3 [from B], repr. Monasticon, vi. 611 (no. xiii); Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 142–3 (no. 168) [from B]. CALENDAR: Regesta 1327.
H(enricus) rex Angl(orum) archiepiscopis episcopis abbatibus comitibus baronibus iustic(iis) uic(ecomitibus) et omnibus fidelibus hominibus suis francis et anglis totius Anglie salutem. Sciatis me concessisse et dedisse pro salute anime mee et pro animabus omnium antecessorum meorum hospitali sancti Petri Ebor’ [1] terras quas ego et [2] Eustachius filius Iohannis et [3] Lambertus de Fossagate et alii homines mei et burgenses eidem hospitali dederunt siue daturi sunt, infra burgum et extra, quicumque eas ei dederit, liberas et quietas 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 6
ab omnibus geldis et consuetudinibus cum saca et soca et thol et them et infanganatheof. Et eisdem terris et omnibus hominibus et rebus eiusdem domus dei do et confirmo easdem libertates et consuetudines per omnia quas habent terre de prebendis ecclesie sancti Petri Ebor’ que meliores et liberiores quietancias habent, excepto meo husgaual, tanto uidelicet quanto eedem mansure dederunt antequam fratres eiusdem hospitalis eas habuerunt, ne propter numerum domorum uel hostiorum plus reddant. Et nominatim concedo et do [4] terram in Usagata quam Iohannes Lardenarius eis dedit quietam et solutam ab omnibus consuetudinibus et geldis et etiam husgaual. Et uolo et firmiter precipio ut ipsi bene et in pace et honorifice teneant. Et prohibeo ne aliquis ministrorum meorum inuasionem in domos uel terras eorum faciat ad nam(am)a capiendam et ad contumeliam faciendam, nec eos quis iniuste calumpniet uel implacitet super decem librarum forisfacturab. Frater enim et custos eiusdem domus dei sum. T(estibus) Turstino archiepiscopo et Eustachio filio Iohannis et Gaufrid(o) filio Pagani. Apud Notingham. a nam BC b super X libras forisfacture C
Henry king of the English to the archbishops bishops abbots earls barons justices sheriffs and all his faithful men French and English of all England greeting. Know that I have granted and given for the salvation of my soul and for the souls of all my predecessors to the hospital of St Peter of York [1] the lands that I and [2] Eustace fitz John and [3] Lambert of Fossgate and others of my men and burgesses have given to the same hospital or will give in future, within borough and without, whoever shall have given them to it, free and quit of all gelds and customs, with sake and soke and toll and team and infangthief. [4] And to those lands and to all the men and property of that house of God I give and confirm the same liberties and customs in all things as have the lands of the prebends of the church of St Peter of York that have good and free quittances, excepting my house-gavel, that is as much as the same dwellings used to give before the brothers of the said hospital had them, so that they shall not render more on account of the number of houses or doorways. And in particular I grant and give [5] the land in Ousegate that John the lardener gave them, quit and absolved of all customs and gelds and also house-gavel. And I will and firmly command that they shall hold well and in peace and honourably. And I forbid anyone of my officials to make entry into their houses or lands for taking distraint and causing contumely, nor shall anyone unjustly claim against or implead them upon forfeit of £10, for I am brother and 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 7
keeper of the same house of God. Witness Archbishop Thurstan and Eustace fitz John and Geoffrey fitz Pain. At Nottingham.
DATE: The apparent date is August 1114 × July 1133: after Thurstan was nominated archbishop, 15 August 1114; before Henry left England for the last time, July 1133. The same witnesses and place-date as 000, Regesta 1328, assigned by Farrer to the king’s visit to the north in 1122. ADDRESS: General address, but in the later form with barones preceding justices and sheriffs. This is the only occurrence of the phrase ‘fidelibus hominibus’ in a royal act. WITNESS: Archbishop Thurstan of York, Eustace fitz John and Geoffrey fitz Pain. PLACE: Nottingham. CONTEXT: This act and 000, Regesta 1328 were presented to Henry II for confirmation at the beginning of his reign (H2/2943). The act appears to be an inflated copy of an act in the name of King Stephen, probably itself a forgery (see Authenticity). [1] The king’s own gift presumably refers to the two carucates in Acomb, discussed in the note to 000 § 1, Regesta 1889, where it is suggested that the gift was actually made by King Stephen. [2] Eustace fitz John’s only known gifts to the hospital were the 10s annually he gave in 1154 when the church of St Leonard was dedicated (Saltman, Theobald, 514–15, no. 285; Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 155–6, no. 185) and the three carucates in Heslington he gave by a deed datable c. 1145 × 1148 by the attestation of the prior of Newburgh (Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 608–9, R507). According to Greenway’s analysis of the Mowbray fee, this gift could have been made only after Roger de Mowbray’s forced feoffment of Eustace fitz John, which she dates to 1143 or 1144 (Mowbray Charters, p. xxvii). Other confirmations to the hospital say it was Roger de Mowbray who made the gift in Heslington. [3] An act of Archbishop Thurstan states that Lambert of Fossgate and his wife Emma gave ‘in manu mea in elemosinam’ to the hospital all their land in Ousegate and a dwelling in Coppergate, and goes on to confirm the gift. It is attested by Hugh the dean, Eustace fitz John, and others named (Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 181, no. 218; EEA 5 York 1070–1154, 66, no. 82). Hugh the dean retired to Fountains abbey in or before 1135, so (if Thurstan’s act is authentic) then Lambert and Emma’s gift must have been made during Henry I’s reign. Pope Eugenius III’s general confirmation to the hospital, dated 1148, includes ‘terras quas Lambertus de Fossagata et uxor eius eidem hospitali dederunt’ (Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 150, no. 179). [4] The grant of the same liberties ‘as have the lands of the prebends of St Peter’s church’ reflects the origins of the hospital as an appurtenance of the minster. The clause relating to house-gavel attempts to ensure the hospital’s dues do not increase as more buildings were erected on its land. [5] John the lardener’s gift, ‘terram quam dedit Iohannes lardenarius’, appears in the 1148 general confirmation of Pope Eugenius III (Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 150, no. 179), but John’s own deed of gift has not survived. John the lardener was also a benefactor of Whitby abbey; his gift of unspecified land was included in a general confirmation by Eugenius addressed to Abbot Benedict, so 1145 × 1148 (Ctl. Whitby, i. 119, no. cxlix; Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, ii. 218, no. 872). Whether John’s gift was actually made during the reign of Henry I is difficult to determine. John had been lardener under Henry, as is shown by a writ-charter of King Stephen that has survived through an inspeximus on behalf of Richard Duffield in 1385, ‘Sciatis me reddidisse et 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 8
concessisse Iohanni larderario meo de Eboraco et Dauid filio suo terram suam totam quam tenet de me in capite cum ministerio suo de lardario et liberatione sua et omnes terras suas de quocunque eas teneat, sicut tenuit die qua rex Henricus fuit uiuus et mortuus’ (Ste/433; Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 196–7, no. 243, from CalPat 1385–1389, 20). By the same route we have an act of Henry II confirming grazing rights to David the lardener ‘sicut pater suus . . . tenuit tempore Henrici regis aui mei’ (H2/2921; Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 331–2, no. 422, from CalPat 1385–1389, 20). David’s sons John (d. 1181) and Thomas succeeded him. Further references to the family are given by C. T. Clay and D. Greenway, Early Yorkshire Families, YASRS 135 (1973), 50–51. AUTHENTICITY: Not authentic. Apart from the difficulty caused by the inclusion of the gift of Eustace fitz John, almost certainly made in the reign of Stephen, some elements of drafting are indicative of forgery. This is the only occurrence of ‘fidelibus hominibus’ in acts of Henry I, so its appearance in the address clause is sufficient to raise significant doubts. The lumping together of the king’s own unspecified gift with those of others, named and unnamed, is suspicious. The lack of precision as to the lands given in § 1 may be deliberate, better to counter any claim against the hospital. The open-ended confirmation of lands to be given in future is highly improbable, and as embodied in the words ‘siue daturi sunt’ does not otherwise occur in Anglo-Norman royal acts, whether authentic or not, though the phrase ‘dederunt siue daturi sunt’ does appear in mid-12th-century deeds, e.g. in an apparently authentic original of Bishop Robert of Exeter, datable 1143 (EEA 11 Exeter 1046–1184, 44–5, no. 49) and in Roger de Mowbray’s gift to the order of St Lazarus, dated by Greenway to c. 1154 × 1162 (Greenway, Mowbray Charters, 22–3, no. 23). In two places the wording implies that it is the lands that had liberties and customs, rather than the tenants of those lands. The phrases ‘ne aliquis ministrorum meorum inuasionem in domos uel terras eorum faciat ad nam(am) capiendam et ad contumeliam faciendam’, and ‘frater enim et custos eiusdem domus dei sum’ are also highly suspicious. As may be seen from the following comparisons, the text of Henry’s act follows that of a similar act of Stephen rather closely, except that most of the diplomatic difficulties are absent from the latter. It seems that Henry’s act has been modelled on Stephen’s. The date of fabrication was presumably early in the reign of Henry II, when the king was resuming the royal demesne granted away by Stephen. The forger took the opportunity to add a selection of further desiderata, and so introduced wording fatal to the document’s authenticity. Whether Stephen’s charter is authentic is more difficult to say. The clause preventing any official entering the houses or lands and taking distraint or causing contumely appears in royal acts only in the charters of Henry I, Stephen, and Henry II discussed here, but was used in twelfth-century forgeries, including a gift to the hospital in the name of William count of Aumale (Ctl. York St Leonard, Rawlinson, 662, R759) and a grant to Newcastle priory in the name of Bishop William of Durham (Offler, Durham Episcopal Charters, 131–5, no. 33) that was confirmed by later bishops (EEA 24 Durham 1153–1195, 89–90, no. 103; EEA 25 Durham 1195–1237, 229–30, no. 231). Stephen’s affinity with the hospital makes the phrase ‘frat(er) et custos eiusdem domus sum’ less implausible in his charter than in Henry I’s, but nevertheless it remains a suspicious feature.
Ste/990 000, Regesta 1327 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 9
S(tephanus) rex Angl
The second comparision shows how Henry II’s apparently authentic act takes two of Henry I’s false acts as its precedents. 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 10
000, Regesta 1327 H2/2943 H(enricus) rex Angl(orum) et dux H(enricus) rex Angl(orum) archiepiscopis Normann(orum) et Aquit(anorum) et episcopis abbatibus comitibus baronibus comes And(egauorum) archiepiscopis, iustic(iis) uic(ecomitibus) et omnibus episcopis abbatibus comitibus iustic(iis), fidelibus hominibus suis francis et anglis vic(ecomiti)bus, baronibus, ministris et totius Anglie salutem. Sciatis me omnibus fidelibus suis totius Anglie concessisse et dedisse pro salute anime salutem. Sciatis me concessisse et mee et pro animabus omnium confirmasse hospit(ali) sancti Petri Ebor’ antecessorum meorum hospitali sancti omnes terras quas rex H(enricus) auus Petri Ebor’ terras quas ego et Eustachius meus et Eustachius filius Ioh(ann)is et filius Iohannis et Lambertus de Fossagate Lambertus de Fossegata et alii homines et alii homines mei et burgenses eidem reg(is) H(enrici) aui mei et burgenses hospitali dederunt siue daturi sunt, infra eidem hospitali dederunt et omnes illas burgum et extra, quicumque eas ei dederit que ei rationabiliter date erunt, infra liberas et quietas ab omnibus geldis et burgum et extra, quicumque eas ei dederit, consuetudinibus cum saca et soca et thol liberas et quietas ab omnibus geldis et et them et infanganatheof. Et eisdem terris consuetudinibus cum saca et soca et tol et et omnibus hominibus et rebus eiusdem team et infangenethef, et eisdem terris et domus dei do et confirmo easdem omnibus hominibus eiusdem domus dei libertates et consuetudines per omnia quas do et confirmo easdem libertates et habent terre de prebendis ecclesie sancti consuetudines per omnia quas habent terre Petri Ebor’ que meliores et liberiores de prebendis ecclesie sancti Petri Ebor’ quietancias habent, excepto meo husgaual, que meliores et liberiores quietancias tanto uidelicet quanto eedem mansure habent, excepto meo huusgauel, tanto dederunt antequam fratres eiusdem videlicet quantum eedem mansure hospitalis eas habuerunt, ne propter dederunt antequam fratres eiusdem numerum domorum uel hostiorum plus hospitalis eas habuerunt, ne propter reddant. Et nominatim concedo et do numerum domorum et hostiorum plus terram de Usagata quam Iohannes reddant, et nominatim concedo ei terram Lardenarius eis dedit quietam et solutam in Usgata quam Iohannes Lardenarius ei ab omnibus consuetudinibus et geldis et dedit quietam et solutam ab omnibus etiam husgaual. consuetudinibus et geldis et etiam [from 000, Regesta 1328:] husgauel, materiem ad domos suas et edificia sua et materiem ad domos suas et edificia sua preparanda et ligna ad ignem suum et preparanda et ligna ad ignem suum et herbam et pasturam pecoribus suis per herbam et pasturam pecoribus suis per totam forestam meam de Ebor(aci)scira et totam forestam meam de Eborac’schir’ et quicquid eis necesse fuerit ad aisiamenta quicquid eis necesse fuerit ad aisiamenta sua de foresta mea sine uasto] sua sine vasto. [000, Regesta 1327 continues:] Et uolo et firmiter precipio ut ipsi bene et Quare volo et firmiter precipio quod ipsi in pace et honorifice teneant. Et prohibeo bene et in pace et honorifice teneant, et ne aliquis ministrorum meorum prohibeo ne aliquis ministrorum meorum inuasionem in domos uel terras eorum inuasionem in domos vel terras eorum faciat ad nam(am) capiendam et ad faciat ad namium capiendum et ad contumeliam faciendam, nec eos quis contumeliam faciendam, nec eos quis 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 11
iniuste calumpniet uel implacitet super X iniuste calumpniet vel impl(ac)itet super libras forisfacture. Frater enim et custos forisfacturam meam sicut carte reg(is) eiusdem domus dei sum. T(estibus) H(enrici) aui mei testantur. Preterea Tur(stino) archiepiscopo et Eustac(hio) concedo ei et confirmo quicquid ei post filio Iohannis et Gaufrido filio Pagani. mortem reg(is) H(enrici) aui mei Apud Notingham. rationabiliter datum est, videlicet ex dono Rogeri de Moubray totam terram de Brungaresfleota cum omnibus pertin(entiis) suis in terris et aquis et piscariis et omnibus rebus, ex dono Roberti Pictau’ tantum terre in campis de Sexton’ quantum est in Wodehus sicut carta sua testatur, ex dono Wymari de Eskelby unam carucatam terre sicut donatorum carte testantur. Et prohibeo ne quis forisfaciat fratribus eiusdem hospit(alis) neque rebus vel terris siue hominibus suis, quia ego custos eiusdem domus dei sum, sicut fuit rex H(enricus) auus meus. T(estibus) T(homa) canc(ellario) et Ric(ardo) de Hum’ const(abulario) et Ric(ardo) de Luci et W(illelmo) fil(io) Ham(onis) et Ric(ardo) de Campiuill’ apud Wynton’.
000† Purported writ ordering the king’s officers and foresters of Yorkshire not to trouble the brethren of the hospital, to whom the king has given and granted the right to use the timber and grazing in his forest in Yorkshire
CHANCERY ENROLMENT: Charter Roll 22 Edward I, C53/80, mem. 9, no. 18, inspeximus dated 16 June 1294 (CalCh, ii. 438, no. 18. 1) [B]. in CARTULARY COPY: BL MS Cotton Nero D. III (s. xv ), fol. 3r (now fol. 5r) (‘H(enrici) reg(is) de omnibus aisiamentis in foresta sua’) [C]. PRINTED: CalCh, ii. 438, no. 18. 1 [from B]; Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 142 (no. 167) [from CalCh]. CALENDAR: Farrer 484; Regesta 1328.
Henricus rex Angl(orum)a iustic(ie) uic(ecomiti) et omnibus forestariis suis de Eborac’scira salutem. Do et concedob fratribus hospitalis sancti Petri pro dei amore et pro animabus 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 12
omnium antecessorum meorum materiem ad domos suas et edificia sua preparanda et ligna ad ignem suum et herbam et pasturam pecoribus suis per totam forestam meam de Eborac’scira et quicquid eis necesse fuerit ad aisiamenta sua de foresta mea sine uasto. Quare uolo et firmiter precipio quod eos nullus disturbet. Custos enim et frater eiusdem domus deic sum. T(estibus) Turstino archiepiscopo et Gaufridod filio Pagani et Eustachio filio Iohannis. Apud Notingh(am).
a Anglie C b confirmo C c om.C d G. C
Henry king of the English to the justice, sheriff, and all his foresters of Yorkshire greeting. I give and grant to the brethren of the hospital of St Peter for the love of God and for the souls of all my predecessors timber for making their houses and buildings and wood for their fire and grass and pasture for their animals through all my forest of Yorkshire and whatever else may be necessary for their easements from my forest, without waste. Wherefore I will and firmly command that no one shall disturb them. For I am keeper and brother of the same house of God. Witness Archbishop Thurstan and Geoffrey fitz Payn and Eustace fitz John. At Nottingham.
DATE: The apparent date is after Thurstan was nominated archbishop, 15 August 1114; before Henry left England for the last time, July 1133. Farrer, followed by the editors of Regesta, brought together three acts place-dated at Nottingham including the present act, and conjectured a date in the autumn of 1122, when the king travelled as far north as York and Durham. ADDRESS: To the sheriff and foresters of Yorkshire. WITNESS: Archbishop Thurstan of York; Geoffrey fitz Pain and Eustace fitz John. PLACE: Nottingham. CONTEXT: The proviso ‘sine wasto’ governing landholders easements in their own woods within the area of the king’s forest first appears in Henry I’s time and was included in the first Assize of the Forest in the reign of Henry II (see Context note to 0000, Regesta 1937 for Gloucester abbey). AUTHENTICITY: The formulation ‘do et concedo’, the movent clause in what is after all no more than a writ, and the explanation, ‘custos enim et frater eiusdem domus dei sum’, invite suspicion, and all appear in the equivalent writ of King Stephen (Ste/992), dated at the siege of Wallingford. The phrase ‘do et concedo’ is used in seven other acts in the name of Henry I. Six of these are clearly forgeries or perhaps in some cases beneficiary-drafted at best: 000, Regesta 1195 for Castleacre; 000, Regesta 779 for Exeter St Nicholas; 000, Regesta 1948 for Marmoutier; 000, Regesta 1012 for Boscherville; 000, Regesta 1312 for Nostell; 000, Regesta 1574 for Durham. Only 000, Regesta 1461 for Nostell appears otherwise to be authentic. In view, however, of the series of well-drafted forgeries produced for Nostell, this too may be a fabrication. The phrase occurs in four acts of the Empress (Emp/116a, 274–5, 634). It also occurs in the version of the present act in King Stephen’s name (which gives some confidence that the wording is reported 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 13
correctly in the charter roll and incorrectly in the cartulary) and in two other charters of Stephen, Ste/374 for Hatfield Broad Oak, and Ste/396 for Hereford St Guthlac, not obviously forgeries, and was used by Henry II. It is likely that, as with 0000, Regesta 1327, Henry’s act was produced from Stephen’s, early in the reign of Henry II. Whether Stephen’s act is authentic is again more difficult to say. The address to Earl William seems unlikely to have been fabricated and Stephen’s claim to be a brother and guardian of the hospital may perhaps be explicable in view of his demonstrable interest in it.
000, Regesta 1328 Ste/992 Henricus rex Anglorum iustic(ie) Stephanus rex Anglorum Willelmo comiti uic(ecomiti) et omnibus forestariis suis de Albemarlie et omnibus forestariis suis de Ebor(aci)scira salutem. Do et concedo Ebora(ci)scira salutem. Do et concedo fratribus hospitalis sancti Petri pro dei fratribus hospitalis sancti Petri amore et pro animabus omnium Eboracensis pro dei amore et pro anima antecessorum meorum materiem ad Henrici regis auunculi mei et omnium domos suas et edificia sua preparanda et antecessorum meorum materiem ad ligna ad ignem suum et herbam et domos suas et edificia sua preparanda et pasturam pecoribus suis per totam ligna ad ignem suum et herbam et forestam meam de Ebor(aci)scira et pasturam pecoribus suis per totam quicquid eis necesse fuerit ad aisiamenta forestam meam et quicquid eis necesse sua de foresta mea sine uasto. Quare uolo fuerit ad aisiamenta sua de foresta mea de et firmiter precipio quod eos nullus Eboracischira. Quare uolo et firmiter disturbet. Custos enim et frater eiusdem precipio quod nullus inde eos disturbet. domus dei sum. T(estibus) Tur(stino) Frater enim et custos eiusdem domus dei archiepiscopo et G(aufrido) filio Pagani sum. Testibus Ranul(fo) comite Cestr(ie) et Eust(achio) filio Iohannis. Apud et Baldewyno filio Gyleberti et Ricardo de Notingh(am). Lucy. Apud obsidionem de Walingford.
000† Purported charter giving land at Acomb and confirming other gifts
CHANCERY ENROLMENT: Charter Roll 22 Edward I, C53/80, mem. 9, no. 18, inspeximus dated 16 June 1294 (CalCh, ii. 438, no. 18. 2) [B]. in CARTULARY COPIES: BL MS Cotton Nero D. III (s. xv ), fol. 3r (now fol. 5r) (‘H(enrici) r(egis) super ij carucatis terre in Acom et super tofto in Doncast’ et super j carucata in Hoperton’ et super j carucata in Vsburn et super ij carucatis in Helmslay’) [C]; Bodl. MS Rawlinson B. 455, fol. 1r (‘H(enricus) rex secundus super ij carucatis terre in Acom’ et super tofto j in Doncast’ et super j carucata in Hoperton’ et super j carucata in Vsebrun’ et super ij carucatis in Helmesl’’) [D]. ANTIQUARIAN TRANSCRIPT: Bodl. MS Dodsworth 120b, fol. 1r (copy by Roger Dodsworth, 1632) [from D]. 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 14
PRINTED: Dugdale, ii. 393b [from B], repr. Monasticon, vi. 612 (no. xiv); Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 143 (no. 169) [from BD]; Carpenter, Ctl. York St Leonard, Rawlinson, 4–5 (R1) [from BCD]. CALENDAR: Farrer 517; Regesta 1889.
H(enricus) rex Angl(orum) archiepiscopo iustic(ie) uic(ecomiti) baronibus et omnibus fidelibus suis francis et anglis de Ebor(aci) scira salutem. Sciatis me concessisse pro dei amore et pro animabus patris et matris mee et aliorum antecessorum meorum hospitali sancti Petri de Ebor(aco) [1] duas carucatas terre de feodo meo in Acum quietas et solutas ab omnibus geldis et consuetudinibus. Et preter hoc concedo eidem domui [2] unum toftum in Donecastr’ de dono R(oberti) Fossard et [3] terras quas Hermannus gigator ei dedit et [4] duas carucatas in Homeleseya de dono Nigelli de Alben’ et [5] unam carucatam in Hoperton(a) de dono Willelmi de Arch(is) et [6] unam carucatam in Vsebrunne de dono Ricardi Mali Leporarii. Preterea concedo eidem hospitali et fratribus ibi degentibus quicquid homines mei eis dare uoluerint in elemosinam de feodo suo intra Ebor(acum) et extra. Quare uolo et firmiter precipio quod in bene et in pace et honorifice teneant et quiete sicut liberam elemosinam. Et super hoc nullus faciat eis inde iniuriam uel contumeliam sed omnes homines illius domus et omnes res eorum et terre meam firmam pacem habeant. T(estibus) Turstino archiepiscopo Alexandro episcopo Linc(olniensi) Rode(berto) de Oili. Apud Ebor(acum).
Henry king of the English to the archbishop, justice, sheriff, barons and all his sworn men French and English of Yorkshire greeting. Know that I have granted for the love of God and for the souls of my father and mother and of my other predecessors to the hospital of St Peter of York [1] two carucates of land of my fee in Acomb quit and absolved of all gelds and customs. And in addition to this I grant to the same house [2] one toft in Doncaster of the gift of Robert Fossard, and [3] the lands that Herman the minstrel gave them, and [4] two carucates in [Upper] Helmsley of the gift of Nigel d’Aubigny, and [5] one carucate in Hopperton of the gift of William of Arches, and [6] one carucate in [Little] Ouseburn of the gift of Richard Mauleverer. Besides I grant to the same hospital and the brethren dwelling there whatever my men may wish to give them in alms of their fee within York and without. Wherefore I will and firmly command that they shall hold well and in peace and honourably and quietly as free alms. And 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 15
upon this (my writ) no one shall cause them injury or contumely in this matter, but all the men of that house and all their things and lands shall have my firm peace. Witness Archbishop Thurstan, Alexander bishop of Lincoln, Robert d’Oilly. At York.
DATE: The apparent date is after Alexander was nominated bishop of Lincoln, April 1123, and before the king’s final departure from England in 1133. ADDRESS: Shire court of York. WITNESS: Archbishop Thurstan, Alexander bishop of Lincoln, Robert d’Oilly. PLACE: York. Farrer places the sealing at Evreux, on the grounds that the king is not known to have visited York after the closing months of 1122. CONTEXT: Unlike the other two acts for the hospital in the name of Henry I, there is no equivalent act in the name of King Stephen, and no confirmation by Henry II. There is little to connect the parcels specified here, except perhaps insecurity of tenure in the reign of Henry II. [1] Two carucates in Acomb were held in 1086 by Ulfketill as one of the king’s thanes; he had held in 1065 (DB, i. 330d, 379d; § 29 W13, SW An15). The land is not mentioned in Henry II’s general confirmation of 1155 × 1170 (H2/2950); but in 1174 × 1184 Henry instructed the sheriff of York to make the boundary ‘sicut fuit tempore regis Henrici aui mei’ between ‘inter boscum pauperum hospitalis de Ebor’ qui sunt elemosina mea in Acum’ and Alan of Knapton’s wood (H2/2953). [2] Henry, son of King David of Scotland, gave a toft in Doncaster to the hospital by a deed datable to 1136 × 1152, probably 1136 × 1141 (Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 162, R112). [3] ‘The lands that Herman the minstrel gave’ are referred to elsewhere as a messuage in Doncaster, but nothing more is known of the holding (Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 158). [4] Nigel d’Aubigny restored two carucates in [Upper] Helmsley to the hospital in 1109 × 1114 (Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 857–8, R769). There is no indication of how the hospital had originally acquired the land. It was perhaps given by Nigel Fossard, who in 1086 held four carucates in [Upper] Helmsley of the count of Mortain (DB, i. 306a; § 5. N61; Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 729). [5] Osbern de Arches held a carucate in Hopperton in 1086 (DB, i. 329c; § 25 W25); it was presumably this land that was acquired by the hospital. By the time of the Lindsey survey of 1115 Osbern’s Lincolnshire fee was in the hands of William de Arches, usually said to be Osbern’s son. William de Arches appears in deeds of c. 1145 × 1153 (Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, i. 413, no. 534; for the date, see Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 132 n. 28) and c. 1154 (Greenway, Mowbray Charters, 230, no. 359). There is no other indication in the cartulary as to how the hospital originally acquired this land; it is otherwise first mentioned in the papal confirmation of 1148 which does not name the donor (Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 236). [6] For the Domesday tenancies in Ouseburn, and the difficulty in establishing how these relate to the later townships of Great and Little Ouseburn, see Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 534. The Mauleverer tenancy of Brus in Little Ouseburn, apparent in 1284– 5, indicates that it is Little Ouseburn that is referred to here. It was presumably the same Richard Mauleverer who gave the chapel at Allerton Mauleverer to the church of Holy Trinity, York in 1109 × 1114. He was the predecessor of the family of that name who were connected with Allerton until the eighteenth century, but Farrer was unable to 18 OCTOBER 2016 H1 YORK, ST PETER’S HOSPITAL 16
establish how the interest descended from Richard (Farrer, Early Yorkshire Charters, ii. 74–7, no. 729 and n). AUTHENTICITY: There are several reasons to doubt the authenticity of this act: concessisse is used where dedisse might be expected; the expression de feodo meo is extremely unusual in authentic acts. The grant of everything that might be given in future by the king’s men is another indication of fabrication. An order that men were to have meam firmam pacem, or similar, was normally reserved for those coming and going to fairs or markets. Farrer had to suppose that the act was given at Evreux rather than York in order to make the act fit with what is known of the king’s itinerary. The toft in Doncaster confirmed in § 2 appears to have been given to the hospital in 1136 × 1141 by Henry, son of King David of Scotland. As Henry held Doncaster by gift of King Stephen and soon lost it, the hospital’s interest was at risk on the accession of Henry II. The hospital appears to be confecting evidence to show that their holding predated Stephen’s reign, and had been given by Robert Fossard during the reign of Henry I. However, it is unlikely that Robert ever held Doncaster (Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 158). It has been postulated that the land in Acomb (§ 1) was given to the hospital by King Stephen. Here again this act would help to protect the hospital’s interest after the accession of Henry II (Ctl. St Leonard, Rawlinson, 5–6).